Warcraft



Sept 9, 1924. 1,507,961

J. HERON WARCRAFT Filed July 19, 1922 5] nuawtoz I JZIQ? 12270 Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

UNITED} STATES.

' JOHN HERON, o'r'ivnw YORK, n. Y.

WARGRAFT.

Application-filed July 19, 1922. Serial No. 576,013.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN HERoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New-York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Warcrafts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to war craft and particularly to a submarine for sinking enemy vessels.

An object of the invention is to provide a submarine with means for attaching itself to the enemys ship while submerged for the purpose of attaching an explosive there to, whereby the submarine is able to sink ships moving at a low speed or standing at anchor without having to appear on the surface of the water to accomplish such purose.

A further object is to provide a submarine having a divers compartment containing all necessary equipmentfor the sinking of an enemys ship and an opening from the top of the submarine to permit the divers to operate against the ship below which the submarine is submerged.

A further object is to provide a submarine which can be made much smaller than heretofore whereby they may be carried on the deck of war ships and operated by any government at less expense.

Various other advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation disclosing a submarine in attaching position with respect to a war ship, and

Figure 2 is a detailed View, on an enlarged scale, of the attaching end of one of the cables of the submarine.

Describing the invention in detail 10 designates the hull of the submarine, which, in the present instance, is provided with a divers compartment 11, in which may be placed all the necessary equipment for the sinking of an enemy ship such as indicated at 12. Arranged below the divers compartment and connected by a valved pipe 13 for a purpose hereinafter explained is a storage tank 14. Compartment 11 is provided with upper doors 15 and 16 and a lower door 17. These doors provide for the passage of one or more divers into or out of the compartment when leaving or reentering the submarine during a period in which the latter is emerged. The compartment may be equipped with torpedoes for at.-;

tacking a fast moving ship but when the ship is moving at a slow speed or-standing at anchor the submarine may be attached magnet 22 having teeth 24: to penetrate the side of the ship. The magnets of the cables are energized from a suitable source 25 within the submarine and with which wires 20' connect as shown.' The air tube21 connects with a suitable suction pump 26 and has its outer end cleared and encased within mag net 23 as indicated at 27. When the magnets are energized and placed against the sides of the ship theyserve to hold the submarlne along side of the latter, thus enabling the attachment thereto in a convenient manner of an explosive, such as a time-explosive bomb.

In'practice, the divers being fully dressed andready for work enter compartment 11 thru door 17 which is subsequently made secure to keep water from entering the sub marine while the divers are at work. Doors 15 and 16 are then opened allowing the compartment to be filled with water, atv which time the submarine would be close enough to ship 12 so as to allow the divers to attach cables 18 to the side of the ship in a' forcible manner so as to cause the sharp pointed teeth 24to force their way thru the paint, at which time magnets 23 are energized to hold the cable connected with the ship. The suction pump 26, may if needed, be also operated to hold the cables to the ship by suction. The cables, it will be noted, pass thru doors 15' and '16 and when not in use are stored in the compartments where they can be conveniently handled. In many instances the divers will not be required to proceed further than doors 15 and 16 of the compartment from which bombs andother explosives can be readily aflixed to the side of a ship. The water is subsequently forced pressed air but if the compressed air fails then doors 15 and 16 are closed and the out of the divers compartment by comdivers remaining in the compartment until the Water is completely discharged therefrom. Pipe 13 is preferably of a large diameter to provide for a quick outlet of the Water and anchor 1a is of such capacity as to permit the divers compartment to be entered three or four times While submerged so that at no time would the submarine have to appear at the surface of the Water except when the emergency tank is filled to capacity at such time the submarine may escape to a safety zone for the purpose of emptying the tank. It will thus be seen that the submarine is able to remain submerged for long intervals and can thus attach Without coming to the surface of the Water. Hence, it

isable to accomplish its purpose Without being visible to airplane or. other crafts.

From the foregoing it is believed that the advantages and novel features of the invention can be readily understood and that further detailed description thereof is not required.

What is claimed is:

A War-craft includin a submarine having attaching cables provided with magnets for attachment to the side of an enemy vessel, said cable providing suction pipes Whereby the cables may be attached by suction in the event of failure of the magnet.

In testimony whereof I affiXmy signature JOHN HERON 

